Sharing of Data with Applications

ABSTRACT

A user may, when using an application of a first computing device, intend to share data with other computing devices. To share the data, sharing processes may be performed by the first computing device, any device that the data is to be shared with, and one or more network locations. The sharing processes may determine whether the data is available at any of the devices or at any of the one or more network locations. Any device or network location where the data is available may be selected as a source of the data. Any device where the data is unavailable may be sent the data from one or more sources. Once received, the data may be stored to enable access by an application.

FIELD

Aspects described herein generally relate to transfer and sharing ofdata with computing networks and devices. Additional aspects describedherein relate to transferring and sharing data based on an enterprisemobility management system or remote access services.

BACKGROUND

When users desire to transfer or share a file with one or more otherdevices, they may interact various applications that allow the users toprovide a location where the data can be obtained. For example, if usingan email application, a user may attach the file as an email attachmentor may include, within the body of an email, a uniform resource locator(URL) to a location of the file. Sharing a file in this manner mayrequire additional steps to download or otherwise obtain the file. Forexample, to obtain the file, a user may, based on the email, be requiredto select the attachment and store the file to a device. As anotherexample, to obtain the file, the user may, based on the URL, be requiredto manually access the location associated with the URL and store thefile to the device (e.g., by clicking on the link and selecting astorage location for the file). The additional steps may diminish auser's experience.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of various aspects describedherein. This summary is not an extensive overview, and is not intendedto identify required or critical elements or to delineate the scope ofthe claims. The following summary merely presents some concepts in asimplified form as an introductory prelude to the more detaileddescription provided below.

To overcome limitations described above, and to overcome otherlimitations that will be apparent upon reading and understanding thepresent disclosure, aspects described herein relate to transferring orsharing a file, or other data, with applications installed at computingdevices. Additional aspects described herein relate to transferring orsharing a file, or other data, based on an enterprise mobilitymanagement system or remote access services.

For example, a user may, when using an application of a first computingdevice, intend to share data with other computing devices. To share thedata, sharing processes may be performed by the first computing device,any device that the data is to be shared with, and one or more networklocations. The sharing processes may determine whether the data isavailable at any of the devices or at any of the one or more networklocations. Any device or network location where the data is availablemay be selected as a source of the data. Any device where the data isunavailable may be sent the data from one or more sources. Oncereceived, the data may be stored to enable access by an application.These and additional aspects will be appreciated based on discussion ofthe present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of aspects described herein and theadvantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the followingdescription in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which likereference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative computer system architecture that may beused in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative remote-access system architecture thatmay be used in accordance with one or more illustrative aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative virtualized (hypervisor) systemarchitecture that may be used in accordance with one or moreillustrative aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative cloud-based system architecture that maybe used in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative enterprise mobility management systemthat may be used in accordance with one or more illustrative aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 6 depicts another illustrative enterprise mobility managementsystem that may be used in accordance with one or more illustrativeaspects described herein.

FIG. 7 depicts an example block diagram for sharing data with variouscomputing devices that may be used in accordance with one or moreaspects described herein.

FIGS. 8A-8E illustrate an example flow where data is, based on usage ofan application at a computing device, shared with various othercomputing devices.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example method for causing data to be shared basedon whether the data is available or unavailable at a computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings identified above and which form a parthereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodimentsin which aspects described herein may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural andfunctional modifications may be made without departing from the scopedescribed herein. Various aspects are capable of other embodiments andof being practiced or being carried out in various different ways.

As a general introduction to the subject matter described in more detailbelow, aspects described herein relate to relate to sharing a file, orother data, with computing networks and devices. Additional aspectsdescribed herein relate to sharing files based on an enterprise mobilitymanagement system, an enterprise mobility management architecture, or amanagement system for cloud-based or remote access services. Forsimplicity, an enterprise mobility management system and an enterprisemobility management architecture may be used herein interchangeably.

As mentioned above, transferring or sharing a file, or other data, mayinclude additional steps that diminish a user's experience. Methods oftransferring or sharing a file, or other data, have other drawbacks. Forexample, when using a URL, the location being pointed to by the URL maybe one or many locations where the file, or other data, is stored. Basedon current network conditions, the URL may be pointing to a sub-optimallocation for obtaining the data. For example, based on a networklatency, the URL may be pointing to a location that causes a slowdownload of the data. Thus, by failing to take advantage of networkconditions that could improve the performance of sharing data, theperformance of transferring or sharing data may be decreased. Thus,methods of transferring and sharing data may diminish a user'sexperience and may decrease the performance of transferring or sharingdata. The methods, systems and apparatuses described herein provide oneor more benefits to such methods of transferring and sharing of files orother data, and may improve a user's experience and may increase theperformance of transferring or sharing data.

For example, a user may, when using an application of a first computingdevice, intend to share data with other computing devices. To share thedata, sharing processes may be performed by the first computing device,any device that the data is to be shared with, and one or more networklocations. The sharing processes may determine whether the data isavailable at any of the devices or at any of the one or more networklocations. Any device or network location where the data is availablemay be selected as a source of the data. Any device where the data isunavailable may be sent the data from one or more sources. Oncereceived, the data may be stored to enable access by an application.

It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used hereinare for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. Rather, the phrases and terms used herein are to be giventheir broadest interpretation and meaning. The use of “including” and“comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the itemslisted thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional itemsand equivalents thereof. The use of the terms “connected,” “coupled,”and similar terms, is meant to include both direct and indirectmounting, connecting, coupling, positioning and engaging.

Computing Architecture

Computer software, hardware, and networks may be utilized in a varietyof different system environments, including standalone, networked,remote access (e.g., allowing devices to access a desktop or otherapplication remotely), virtualized, and/or cloud-based environments,among others. FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a system architectureand data processing device that may be used to implement one or moreillustrative aspects described herein in a standalone and/or networkedenvironment. Various network nodes 103, 105, 107, and 109 may beinterconnected via a wide area network (WAN) 101, such as the Internet.Other networks may also or alternatively be used, including privateintranets, corporate networks, local area networks (LAN), metropolitanarea networks (MAN), wireless networks, personal networks (PAN), and thelike. Network 101 is for illustration purposes and may be replaced withfewer or additional computer networks. A local area network 133 may haveone or more of any known LAN topology and may use one or more of avariety of different protocols, such as Ethernet. Devices 103, 105, 107,and 109 and other devices (not shown) may be connected to one or more ofthe networks via twisted pair wires, coaxial cable, fiber optics, radiowaves, or other communication media.

The term “network” as used herein and depicted in the drawings refersnot only to systems in which remote storage devices are coupled togethervia one or more communication paths, but also to stand-alone devicesthat may be coupled, from time to time, to such systems that havestorage capability. Consequently, the term “network” includes not only a“physical network” but also a “content network,” which is comprised ofthe data—attributable to a single entity—which resides across allphysical networks.

The components may include data server 103, web server 105, and clientcomputers 107, 109. Data server 103 provides overall access, control andadministration of databases and control software for performing one ormore illustrative aspects describe herein. Data server 103 may beconnected to web server 105 through which users interact with and obtaindata as requested. Alternatively, data server 103 may act as a webserver itself and be directly connected to the Internet. Data server 103may be connected to web server 105 through the local area network 133,the wide area network 101 (e.g., the Internet), via direct or indirectconnection, or via some other network. Users may interact with the dataserver 103 using remote computers 107, 109, e.g., using a web browser toconnect to the data server 103 via one or more externally exposed websites hosted by web server 105. Client computers 107, 109 may be used inconcert with data server 103 to access data stored therein, or may beused for other purposes. For example, from client device 107 a user mayaccess web server 105 using an Internet browser, as is known in the art,or by executing a software application that communicates with web server105 and/or data server 103 over a computer network (such as theInternet).

Servers and applications may be combined on the same physical machines,and retain separate virtual or logical addresses, or may reside onseparate physical machines. FIG. 1 illustrates just one example of anetwork architecture that may be used, and those of skill in the artwill appreciate that the specific network architecture and dataprocessing devices used may vary, and are secondary to the functionalitythat they provide, as further described herein. For example, servicesprovided by web server 105 and data server 103 may be combined on asingle server.

Each component 103, 105, 107, 109 may be any type of known computer,server, or data processing device. Data server 103, e.g., may include aprocessor 111 controlling overall operation of the data server 103. Dataserver 103 may further include random access memory (RAM) 113, read onlymemory (ROM) 115, network interface 117, input/output interfaces 119(e.g., keyboard, mouse, display, printer, etc.), and memory 121.Input/output (I/O) 119 may include a variety of interface units anddrives for reading, writing, displaying, and/or printing data or files.Memory 121 may further store operating system software 123 forcontrolling overall operation of the data processing device 103, controllogic 125 for instructing data server 103 to perform aspects describedherein, and other application software 127 providing secondary, support,and/or other functionality which may or might not be used in conjunctionwith aspects described herein. The control logic 125 may also bereferred to herein as the data server software 125. Functionality of thedata server software 125 may refer to operations or decisions madeautomatically based on rules coded into the control logic 125, mademanually by a user providing input into the system, and/or a combinationof automatic processing based on user input (e.g., queries, dataupdates, etc.).

Memory 121 may also store data used in performance of one or moreaspects described herein, including a first database 129 and a seconddatabase 131. In some embodiments, the first database 129 may includethe second database 131 (e.g., as a separate table, report, etc.). Thatis, the information can be stored in a single database, or separatedinto different logical, virtual, or physical databases, depending onsystem design. Devices 105, 107, and 109 may have similar or differentarchitecture as described with respect to device 103. Those of skill inthe art will appreciate that the functionality of data processing device103 (or device 105, 107, or 109) as described herein may be spreadacross multiple data processing devices, for example, to distributeprocessing load across multiple computers, to segregate transactionsbased on geographic location, user access level, quality of service(QoS), etc.

One or more aspects may be embodied in computer-usable or readable dataand/or computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more programmodules, executed by one or more computers or other devices as describedherein. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor ina computer or other device. The modules may be written in a source codeprogramming language that is subsequently compiled for execution, or maybe written in a scripting language such as (but not limited to)HyperText Markup Language (HTML) or Extensible Markup Language (XML).The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computerreadable medium such as a nonvolatile storage device. Any suitablecomputer readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or anycombination thereof. In addition, various transmission (non-storage)media representing data or events as described herein may be transferredbetween a source and a destination in the form of electromagnetic wavestraveling through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, opticalfibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).Various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, a dataprocessing system, or a computer program product. Therefore, variousfunctionalities may be embodied in whole or in part in software,firmware, and/or hardware or hardware equivalents such as integratedcircuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like.Particular data structures may be used to more effectively implement oneor more aspects described herein, and such data structures arecontemplated within the scope of computer executable instructions andcomputer-usable data described herein.

With further reference to FIG. 2, one or more aspects described hereinmay be implemented in a remote-access environment. FIG. 2 depicts anexample system architecture including a computing device 201 in anillustrative computing environment 200 that may be used according to oneor more illustrative aspects described herein. Computing device 201 maybe used as a server 206 a in a single-server or multi-server desktopvirtualization system (e.g., a remote access or cloud system) configuredto provide virtual machines for client access devices. The computingdevice 201 may have a processor 203 for controlling overall operation ofthe server 206 a and its associated components, including RAM 205, ROM207, Input/Output (I/O) module 209, and memory 215.

I/O module 209 may include a mouse, keypad, touch screen, scanner,optical reader, and/or stylus (or other input device(s)) through which auser of computing device 201 may provide input, and may also include oneor more of a speaker for providing audio output and one or more of avideo display device for providing textual, audiovisual, and/orgraphical output. Software may be stored within memory 215 and/or otherstorage to provide instructions to processor 203 for configuringcomputing device 201 into a special purpose computing device in order toperform various functions as described herein. For example, memory 215may store software used by the computing device 201, such as anoperating system 217, application programs 219, and an associateddatabase 221.

Computing device 201 may operate in a networked environment supportingconnections to one or more remote computers, such as terminals 240 (alsoreferred to as client devices). The terminals 240 may be personalcomputers, mobile devices, laptop computers, tablets, or servers thatinclude many or all of the elements described above with respect to thecomputing device 103 or 201. The network connections depicted in FIG. 2include a local area network (LAN) 225 and a wide area network (WAN)229, but may also include other networks. When used in a LAN networkingenvironment, computing device 201 may be connected to the LAN 225through a network interface or adapter 223. When used in a WANnetworking environment, computing device 201 may include a modem orother wide area network interface 227 for establishing communicationsover the WAN 229, such as computer network 230 (e.g., the Internet). Itwill be appreciated that the network connections shown are illustrativeand other means of establishing a communications link between thecomputers may be used. Computing device 201 and/or terminals 240 mayalso be mobile terminals (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), notebooks, etc.) including various othercomponents, such as a battery, speaker, and antennas (not shown).

Aspects described herein may also be operational with numerous othergeneral purpose or special purpose computing system environments orconfigurations. Examples of other computing systems, environments,and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with aspectsdescribed herein include, but are not limited to, personal computers,server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumerelectronics, network personal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, one or more client devices 240 may be incommunication with one or more servers 206 a-206 n (generally referredto herein as “server(s) 206”). In one embodiment, the computingenvironment 200 may include a network appliance installed between theserver(s) 206 and client machine(s) 240. The network appliance maymanage client/server connections, and in some cases can load balanceclient connections amongst a plurality of backend servers 206.

The client machine(s) 240 may in some embodiments be referred to as asingle client machine 240 or a single group of client machines 240,while server(s) 206 may be referred to as a single server 206 or asingle group of servers 206. In one embodiment a single client machine240 communicates with more than one server 206, while in anotherembodiment a single server 206 communicates with more than one clientmachine 240. In yet another embodiment, a single client machine 240communicates with a single server 206.

A client machine 240 can, in some embodiments, be referenced by any oneof the following non-exhaustive terms: client machine(s); client(s);client computer(s); client device(s); client computing device(s); localmachine; remote machine; client node(s); endpoint(s); or endpointnode(s). The server 206, in some embodiments, may be referenced by anyone of the following non-exhaustive terms: server(s), local machine;remote machine; server farm(s), or host computing device(s).

In one embodiment, the client machine 240 may be a virtual machine. Thevirtual machine may be any virtual machine, while in some embodimentsthe virtual machine may be any virtual machine managed by a Type 1 orType 2 hypervisor, for example, a hypervisor developed by CitrixSystems, IBM, VMware, or any other hypervisor. In some aspects, thevirtual machine may be managed by a hypervisor, while in other aspectsthe virtual machine may be managed by a hypervisor executing on a server206 or a hypervisor executing on a client 240.

Some embodiments include a client device 240 that displays applicationoutput generated by an application remotely executing on a server 206 orother remotely located machine. In these embodiments, the client device240 may execute a virtual machine receiver program or application todisplay the output in an application window, a browser, or other outputwindow. In one example, the application is a desktop, while in otherexamples the application is an application that generates or presents adesktop. A desktop may include a graphical shell providing a userinterface for an instance of an operating system in which local and/orremote applications can be integrated. Applications, as used herein, areprograms that execute after an instance of an operating system (and,optionally, also the desktop) has been loaded.

The server 206, in some embodiments, uses a remote presentation protocolor other program to send data to a thin-client or remote-displayapplication executing on the client to present display output generatedby an application executing on the server 206. The thin-client orremote-display protocol can be any one of the following non-exhaustivelist of protocols: the Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocoldeveloped by Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; or the RemoteDesktop Protocol (RDP) manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash.

A remote computing environment may include more than one server 206a-206 n such that the servers 206 a-206 n are logically grouped togetherinto a server farm 206, for example, in a cloud computing environment.The server farm 206 may include servers 206 that are geographicallydispersed while and logically grouped together, or servers 206 that arelocated proximate to each other while logically grouped together.Geographically dispersed servers 206 a-206 n within a server farm 206can, in some embodiments, communicate using a WAN (wide), MAN(metropolitan), or LAN (local), where different geographic regions canbe characterized as: different continents; different regions of acontinent; different countries; different states; different cities;different campuses; different rooms; or any combination of the precedinggeographical locations. In some embodiments the server farm 206 may beadministered as a single entity, while in other embodiments the serverfarm 206 can include multiple server farms.

In some embodiments, a server farm may include servers 206 that executea substantially similar type of operating system platform (e.g.,WINDOWS, UNIX, LINUX, iOS, ANDROID, SYMBIAN, etc.) In other embodiments,server farm 206 may include a first group of one or more servers thatexecute a first type of operating system platform, and a second group ofone or more servers that execute a second type of operating systemplatform.

Server 206 may be configured as any type of server, as needed, e.g., afile server, an application server, a web server, a proxy server, anappliance, a network appliance, a gateway, an application gateway, agateway server, a virtualization server, a deployment server, a SecureSockets Layer (SSL) VPN server, a firewall, a web server, an applicationserver or as a master application server, a server executing an activedirectory, or a server executing an application acceleration programthat provides firewall functionality, application functionality, or loadbalancing functionality. Other server types may also be used.

Some embodiments include a first server 206 a that receives requestsfrom a client machine 240, forwards the request to a second server 206 b(not shown), and responds to the request generated by the client machine240 with a response from the second server 206 b (not shown.) Firstserver 206 a may acquire an enumeration of applications available to theclient machine 240 as well as address information associated with anapplication server 206 hosting an application identified within theenumeration of applications. First server 206 a can then present aresponse to the client's request using a web interface, and communicatedirectly with the client 240 to provide the client 240 with access to anidentified application. One or more clients 240 and/or one or moreservers 206 may transmit data over network 230, e.g., network 101.

FIG. 3 shows a high-level architecture of an illustrative desktopvirtualization system. As shown, the desktop virtualization system maybe single-server or multi-server system, or cloud system, including atleast one virtualization server 301 configured to provide virtualdesktops and/or virtual applications to one or more client accessdevices 240. As used herein, a desktop refers to a graphical environmentor space in which one or more applications may be hosted and/orexecuted. A desktop may include a graphical shell providing a userinterface for an instance of an operating system in which local and/orremote applications can be integrated. Applications may include programsthat execute after an instance of an operating system (and, optionally,also the desktop) has been loaded. Each instance of the operating systemmay be physical (e.g., one operating system per device) or virtual(e.g., many instances of an OS running on a single device). Eachapplication may be executed on a local device, or executed on a remotelylocated device (e.g., remoted).

A computer device 301 may be configured as a virtualization server in avirtualization environment, for example, a single-server, multi-server,or cloud computing environment. Virtualization server 301 illustrated inFIG. 3 can be deployed as and/or implemented by one or more embodimentsof the server 206 illustrated in FIG. 2 or by other known computingdevices. Included in virtualization server 301 is a hardware layer thatcan include one or more physical disks 304, one or more physical devices306, one or more physical processors 308, and one or more physicalmemories 316. In some embodiments, firmware 312 can be stored within amemory element in the physical memory 316 and can be executed by one ormore of the physical processors 308. Virtualization server 301 mayfurther include an operating system 314 that may be stored in a memoryelement in the physical memory 316 and executed by one or more of thephysical processors 308. Still further, a hypervisor 302 may be storedin a memory element in the physical memory 316 and can be executed byone or more of the physical processors 308.

Executing on one or more of the physical processors 308 may be one ormore virtual machines 332A-C (generally 332). Each virtual machine 332may have a virtual disk 326A-C and a virtual processor 328A-C. In someembodiments, a first virtual machine 332A may execute, using a virtualprocessor 328A, a control program 320 that includes a tools stack 324.Control program 320 may be referred to as a control virtual machine,Dom0, Domain 0, or other virtual machine used for system administrationand/or control. In some embodiments, one or more virtual machines 332B-Ccan execute, using a virtual processor 328B-C, a guest operating system330A-B.

Virtualization server 301 may include a hardware layer 310 with one ormore pieces of hardware that communicate with the virtualization server301. In some embodiments, the hardware layer 310 can include one or morephysical disks 304, one or more physical devices 306, one or morephysical processors 308, and one or more physical memory 316. Physicalcomponents 304, 306, 308, and 316 may include, for example, any of thecomponents described above. Physical devices 306 may include, forexample, a network interface card, a video card, a keyboard, a mouse, aninput device, a monitor, a display device, speakers, an optical drive, astorage device, a universal serial bus connection, a printer, a scanner,a network element (e.g., router, firewall, network address translator,load balancer, virtual private network (VPN) gateway, Dynamic HostConfiguration Protocol (DHCP) router, etc.), or any device connected toor communicating with virtualization server 301. Physical memory 316 inthe hardware layer 310 may include any type of memory. Physical memory316 may store data, and in some embodiments may store one or moreprograms, or set of executable instructions. FIG. 3 illustrates anembodiment where firmware 312 is stored within the physical memory 316of virtualization server 301. Programs or executable instructions storedin the physical memory 316 can be executed by the one or more processors308 of virtualization server 301.

Virtualization server 301 may also include a hypervisor 302. In someembodiments, hypervisor 302 may be a program executed by processors 308on virtualization server 301 to create and manage any number of virtualmachines 332. Hypervisor 302 may be referred to as a virtual machinemonitor, or platform virtualization software. In some embodiments,hypervisor 302 can be any combination of executable instructions andhardware that monitors virtual machines executing on a computingmachine. Hypervisor 302 may be Type 2 hypervisor, where the hypervisorexecutes within an operating system 314 executing on the virtualizationserver 301. Virtual machines may then execute at a level above thehypervisor 302. In some embodiments, the Type 2 hypervisor may executewithin the context of a user's operating system such that the Type 2hypervisor interacts with the user's operating system. In otherembodiments, one or more virtualization servers 301 in a virtualizationenvironment may instead include a Type 1 hypervisor (not shown). A Type1 hypervisor may execute on the virtualization server 301 by directlyaccessing the hardware and resources within the hardware layer 310. Thatis, while a Type 2 hypervisor 302 accesses system resources through ahost operating system 314, as shown, a Type 1 hypervisor may directlyaccess all system resources without the host operating system 314. AType 1 hypervisor may execute directly on one or more physicalprocessors 308 of virtualization server 301, and may include programdata stored in the physical memory 316.

Hypervisor 302, in some embodiments, can provide virtual resources tooperating systems 330 or control programs 320 executing on virtualmachines 332 in any manner that simulates the operating systems 330 orcontrol programs 320 having direct access to system resources. Systemresources can include, but are not limited to, physical devices 306,physical disks 304, physical processors 308, physical memory 316, andany other component included in hardware layer 310 of the virtualizationserver 301. Hypervisor 302 may be used to emulate virtual hardware,partition physical hardware, virtualize physical hardware, and/orexecute virtual machines that provide access to computing environments.In still other embodiments, hypervisor 302 may control processorscheduling and memory partitioning for a virtual machine 332 executingon virtualization server 301. Hypervisor 302 may include thosemanufactured by VMWare, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif.; the XENPROJECThypervisor, an open source product whose development is overseen by theopen source XenProject.org community; HyperV, VirtualServer or virtualPC hypervisors provided by Microsoft, or others. In some embodiments,virtualization server 301 may execute a hypervisor 302 that creates avirtual machine platform on which guest operating systems may execute.In these embodiments, the virtualization server 301 may be referred toas a host server. An example of such a virtualization server is theXENSERVER provided by Citrix Systems, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Hypervisor 302 may create one or more virtual machines 332B-C (generally332) in which guest operating systems 330 execute. In some embodiments,hypervisor 302 may load a virtual machine image to create a virtualmachine 332. In other embodiments, the hypervisor 302 may execute aguest operating system 330 within virtual machine 332. In still otherembodiments, virtual machine 332 may execute guest operating system 330.

In addition to creating virtual machines 332, hypervisor 302 may controlthe execution of at least one virtual machine 332. In other embodiments,hypervisor 302 may present at least one virtual machine 332 with anabstraction of at least one hardware resource provided by thevirtualization server 301 (e.g., any hardware resource available withinthe hardware layer 310). In other embodiments, hypervisor 302 maycontrol the manner in which virtual machines 332 access physicalprocessors 308 available in virtualization server 301. Controllingaccess to physical processors 308 may include determining whether avirtual machine 332 should have access to a processor 308, and howphysical processor capabilities are presented to the virtual machine332.

As shown in FIG. 3, virtualization server 301 may host or execute one ormore virtual machines 332. A virtual machine 332 is a set of executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor 308, may imitate theoperation of a physical computer such that the virtual machine 332 canexecute programs and processes much like a physical computing device.While FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment where a virtualization server 301hosts three virtual machines 332, in other embodiments virtualizationserver 301 can host any number of virtual machines 332. Hypervisor 302,in some embodiments, may provide each virtual machine 332 with a uniquevirtual view of the physical hardware, memory, processor, and othersystem resources available to that virtual machine 332. In someembodiments, the unique virtual view can be based on one or more ofvirtual machine permissions, application of a policy engine to one ormore virtual machine identifiers, a user accessing a virtual machine,the applications executing on a virtual machine, networks accessed by avirtual machine, or any other desired criteria. For instance, hypervisor302 may create one or more unsecure virtual machines 332 and one or moresecure virtual machines 332. Unsecure virtual machines 332 may beprevented from accessing resources, hardware, memory locations, andprograms that secure virtual machines 332 may be permitted to access. Inother embodiments, hypervisor 302 may provide each virtual machine 332with a substantially similar virtual view of the physical hardware,memory, processor, and other system resources available to the virtualmachines 332.

Each virtual machine 332 may include a virtual disk 326A-C (generally326) and a virtual processor 328A-C (generally 328.) The virtual disk326, in some embodiments, is a virtualized view of one or more physicaldisks 304 of the virtualization server 301, or a portion of one or morephysical disks 304 of the virtualization server 301. The virtualizedview of the physical disks 304 can be generated, provided, and managedby the hypervisor 302. In some embodiments, hypervisor 302 provides eachvirtual machine 332 with a unique view of the physical disks 304. Thus,in these embodiments, the particular virtual disk 326 included in eachvirtual machine 332 can be unique when compared with the other virtualdisks 326.

A virtual processor 328 can be a virtualized view of one or morephysical processors 308 of the virtualization server 301. In someembodiments, the virtualized view of the physical processors 308 can begenerated, provided, and managed by hypervisor 302. In some embodiments,virtual processor 328 has substantially all of the same characteristicsof at least one physical processor 308. In other embodiments, virtualprocessor 308 provides a modified view of physical processors 308 suchthat at least some of the characteristics of the virtual processor 328are different than the characteristics of the corresponding physicalprocessor 308.

With further reference to FIG. 4, some aspects described herein may beimplemented in a cloud-based environment. FIG. 4 illustrates an exampleof a cloud computing environment (or cloud system) 400. As seen in FIG.4, client computers 411-414 may communicate with a cloud managementserver 410 to access the computing resources (e.g., host servers 403a-403 b (generally referred herein as “host servers 403”), storageresources 404 a-404 b (generally referred herein as “storage resources404”), and network elements 405 a-405 b (generally referred herein as“network resources 405”)) of the cloud system.

Management server 410 may be implemented on one or more physicalservers. The management server 410 may run, for example, CLOUDPLATFORMby Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., or OPENSTACK, amongothers. Management server 410 may manage various computing resources,including cloud hardware and software resources, for example, hostcomputers 403, data storage devices 404, and networking devices 405. Thecloud hardware and software resources may include private and/or publiccomponents. For example, a cloud may be configured as a private cloud tobe used by one or more particular customers or client computers 411-414and/or over a private network. In other embodiments, public clouds orhybrid public-private clouds may be used by other customers over an openor hybrid networks.

Management server 410 may be configured to provide user interfacesthrough which cloud operators and cloud customers may interact with thecloud system 400. For example, the management server 410 may provide aset of application programming interfaces (APIs) and/or one or morecloud operator console applications (e.g., web-based or standaloneapplications) with user interfaces to allow cloud operators to managethe cloud resources, configure the virtualization layer, manage customeraccounts, and perform other cloud administration tasks. The managementserver 410 also may include a set of APIs and/or one or more customerconsole applications with user interfaces configured to receive cloudcomputing requests from end users via client computers 411-414, forexample, requests to create, modify, or destroy virtual machines withinthe cloud. Client computers 411-414 may connect to management server 410via the Internet or some other communication network, and may requestaccess to one or more of the computing resources managed by managementserver 410. In response to client requests, the management server 410may include a resource manager configured to select and provisionphysical resources in the hardware layer of the cloud system based onthe client requests. For example, the management server 410 andadditional components of the cloud system may be configured toprovision, create, and manage virtual machines and their operatingenvironments (e.g., hypervisors, storage resources, services offered bythe network elements, etc.) for customers at client computers 411-414,over a network (e.g., the Internet), providing customers withcomputational resources, data storage services, networking capabilities,and computer platform and application support. Cloud systems also may beconfigured to provide various specific services, including securitysystems, development environments, user interfaces, and the like.

Certain clients 411-414 may be related, for example, to different clientcomputers creating virtual machines on behalf of the same end user, ordifferent users affiliated with the same company or organization. Inother examples, certain clients 411-414 may be unrelated, such as usersaffiliated with different companies or organizations. For unrelatedclients, information on the virtual machines or storage of any one usermay be hidden from other users.

Referring now to the physical hardware layer of a cloud computingenvironment, availability zones 401-402 (or zones) may refer to acollocated set of physical computing resources. Zones may begeographically separated from other zones in the overall cloud ofcomputing resources. For example, zone 401 may be a first clouddatacenter located in California, and zone 402 may be a second clouddatacenter located in Florida. Management server 410 may be located atone of the availability zones, or at a separate location. Each zone mayinclude an internal network that interfaces with devices that areoutside of the zone, such as the management server 410, through agateway. End users of the cloud (e.g., clients 411-414) might or mightnot be aware of the distinctions between zones. For example, an end usermay request the creation of a virtual machine having a specified amountof memory, processing power, and network capabilities. The managementserver 410 may respond to the user's request and may allocate theresources to create the virtual machine without the user knowing whetherthe virtual machine was created using resources from zone 401 or zone402. In other examples, the cloud system may allow end users to requestthat virtual machines (or other cloud resources) are allocated in aspecific zone or on specific resources 403-405 within a zone.

In this example, each zone 401-402 may include an arrangement of variousphysical hardware components (or computing resources) 403-405, forexample, physical hosting resources (or processing resources), physicalnetwork resources, physical storage resources, switches, and additionalhardware resources that may be used to provide cloud computing servicesto customers. The physical hosting resources in a cloud zone 401-402 mayinclude one or more computer servers 403, such as the virtualizationservers 301 described above, which may be configured to create and hostvirtual machine instances. The physical network resources in a cloudzone 401 or 402 may include one or more network elements 405 (e.g.,network service providers) comprising hardware and/or softwareconfigured to provide a network service to cloud customers, such asfirewalls, network address translators, load balancers, virtual privatenetwork (VPN) gateways, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)routers, and the like. The storage resources in the cloud zone 401-402may include storage disks (e.g., solid state drives (SSDs), magnetichard disks, etc.) and other storage devices.

The example cloud computing environment shown in FIG. 4 also may includea virtualization layer (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 1-3) with additionalhardware and/or software resources configured to create and managevirtual machines and provide other services to customers using thephysical resources in the cloud. The virtualization layer may includehypervisors, as described above in FIG. 3, along with other componentsto provide network virtualizations, storage virtualizations, etc. Thevirtualization layer may be as a separate layer from the physicalresource layer, or may share some or all of the same hardware and/orsoftware resources with the physical resource layer. For example, thevirtualization layer may include a hypervisor installed in each of thevirtualization servers 403 with the physical computing resources. Knowncloud systems may alternatively be used, e.g., WINDOWS AZURE (MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond Wash.), AMAZON EC2 (Amazon.com Inc. of Seattle,Wash.), IBM BLUE CLOUD (IBM Corporation of Armonk, N.Y.), or others.

Enterprise Mobility Management Architecture

FIG. 5 represents an enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 foruse in a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) environment. The architectureenables a user of a mobile device 502 to both access enterprise orpersonal resources from a mobile device 502 and use the mobile device502 for personal use. The user may access such enterprise resources 504or enterprise services 508 using a mobile device 502 that is purchasedby the user or a mobile device 502 that is provided by the enterprise tothe user. The user may utilize the mobile device 502 for business useonly or for business and personal use. The mobile device 502 may run aniOS operating system, an Android operating system, or the like. Theenterprise may choose to implement policies to manage the mobile device502. The policies may be implemented through a firewall or gateway insuch a way that the mobile device 502 may be identified, secured orsecurity verified, and provided selective or full access to theenterprise resources (e.g., 504 and 508.) The policies may be mobiledevice management policies, mobile application management policies,mobile data management policies, or some combination of mobile device,application, and data management policies. A mobile device 502 that ismanaged through the application of mobile device management policies maybe referred to as an enrolled device.

In some embodiments, the operating system of the mobile device 502 maybe separated into a managed partition 510 and an unmanaged partition512. The managed partition 510 may have policies applied to it to securethe applications running on and data stored in the managed partition510. The applications running on the managed partition 510 may be secureapplications. In other embodiments, all applications may execute inaccordance with a set of one or more policy files received separate fromthe application, and which define one or more security parameters,features, resource restrictions, and/or other access controls that areenforced by the mobile device management system when that application isexecuting on the mobile device 502. By operating in accordance withtheir respective policy file(s), each application may be allowed orrestricted from communications with one or more other applicationsand/or resources, thereby creating a virtual partition. Thus, as usedherein, a partition may refer to a physically partitioned portion ofmemory (physical partition), a logically partitioned portion of memory(logical partition), and/or a virtual partition created as a result ofenforcement of one or more policies and/or policy files across multipleapplications as described herein (virtual partition). Stateddifferently, by enforcing policies on managed applications, thoseapplications may be restricted to only be able to communicate with othermanaged applications and trusted enterprise resources, thereby creatinga virtual partition that is not accessible by unmanaged applications anddevices.

The secure applications may be email applications, web browsingapplications, software-as-a-service (SaaS) access applications, WindowsApplication access applications, and the like. The secure applicationsmay be secure native applications 514, secure remote applications 522executed by a secure application launcher 518, virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518, and thelike. The secure native applications 514 may be wrapped by a secureapplication wrapper 520. The secure application wrapper 520 may includeintegrated policies that are executed on the mobile device 502 when thesecure native application 514 is executed on the mobile device 502. Thesecure application wrapper 520 may include meta-data that points thesecure native application 514 running on the mobile device 502 to theresources hosted at the enterprise (e.g., 504 and 508) that the securenative application 514 may require to complete the task requested uponexecution of the secure native application 514. The secure remoteapplications 522 executed by a secure application launcher 518 may beexecuted within the secure application launcher 518. The virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518 mayutilize resources on the mobile device 502, at the enterprise resources504, and the like. The resources used on the mobile device 502 by thevirtualization applications 526 executed by a secure applicationlauncher 518 may include user interaction resources, processingresources, and the like. The user interaction resources may be used tocollect and transmit keyboard input, mouse input, camera input, tactileinput, audio input, visual input, gesture input, and the like. Theprocessing resources may be used to present a user interface, processdata received from the enterprise resources 504, and the like. Theresources used at the enterprise resources 504 by the virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518 mayinclude user interface generation resources, processing resources, andthe like. The user interface generation resources may be used toassemble a user interface, modify a user interface, refresh a userinterface, and the like. The processing resources may be used to createinformation, read information, update information, delete information,and the like. For example, the virtualization application 526 may recorduser interactions associated with a graphical user interface (GUI) andcommunicate them to a server application where the server applicationwill use the user interaction data as an input to the applicationoperating on the server. In such an arrangement, an enterprise may electto maintain the application on the server side as well as data, files,etc. associated with the application. While an enterprise may elect to“mobilize” some applications in accordance with the principles herein bysecuring them for deployment on the mobile device 502, this arrangementmay also be elected for certain applications. For example, while someapplications may be secured for use on the mobile device 502, othersmight not be prepared or appropriate for deployment on the mobile device502 so the enterprise may elect to provide the mobile user access to theunprepared applications through virtualization techniques. As anotherexample, the enterprise may have large complex applications with largeand complex data sets (e.g., material resource planning applications)where it would be very difficult, or otherwise undesirable, to customizethe application for the mobile device 502 so the enterprise may elect toprovide access to the application through virtualization techniques. Asyet another example, the enterprise may have an application thatmaintains highly secured data (e.g., human resources data, customerdata, engineering data) that may be deemed by the enterprise as toosensitive for even the secured mobile environment so the enterprise mayelect to use virtualization techniques to permit mobile access to suchapplications and data. An enterprise may elect to provide both fullysecured and fully functional applications on the mobile device 502 aswell as a virtualization application 526 to allow access to applicationsthat are deemed more properly operated on the server side. In anembodiment, the virtualization application 526 may store some data,files, etc. on the mobile device 502 in one of the secure storagelocations. An enterprise, for example, may elect to allow certaininformation to be stored on the mobile device 502 while not permittingother information.

In connection with the virtualization application 526, as describedherein, the mobile device 502 may have a virtualization application 526that is designed to present GUIs and then record user interactions withthe GUI. The virtualization application 526 may communicate the userinteractions to the server side to be used by the server sideapplication as user interactions with the application. In response, theapplication on the server side may transmit back to the mobile device502 a new GUI. For example, the new GUI may be a static page, a dynamicpage, an animation, or the like, thereby providing access to remotelylocated resources.

The secure applications 514 may access data stored in a secure datacontainer 528 in the managed partition 510 of the mobile device 502. Thedata secured in the secure data container 528 may be accessed by thesecure native applications 514, secure remote applications 522 executedby a secure application launcher 518, virtualization applications 526executed by a secure application launcher 518, and the like. The datastored in the secure data container 528 may include files, databases,and the like. The data stored in the secure data container 528 mayinclude data restricted to a specific secure application 530, sharedamong secure applications 532, and the like. Data restricted to a secureapplication may include secure general data 534 and highly secure data538. Secure general data may use a strong form of encryption such asAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-bit encryption or the like, whilehighly secure data 538 may use a very strong form of encryption such asAES 256-bit encryption. Data stored in the secure data container 528 maybe deleted from the mobile device 502 upon receipt of a command from thedevice manager 524. The secure applications (e.g., 514, 522, and 526)may have a dual-mode option 540. The dual mode option 540 may presentthe user with an option to operate the secured application in anunsecured or unmanaged mode. In an unsecured or unmanaged mode, thesecure applications may access data stored in an unsecured datacontainer 542 on the unmanaged partition 512 of the mobile device 502.The data stored in an unsecured data container may be personal data 544.The data stored in an unsecured data container 542 may also be accessedby unsecured applications 546 that are running on the unmanagedpartition 512 of the mobile device 502. The data stored in an unsecureddata container 542 may remain on the mobile device 502 when the datastored in the secure data container 528 is deleted from the mobiledevice 502. An enterprise may want to delete from the mobile device 502selected or all data, files, and/or applications owned, licensed orcontrolled by the enterprise (enterprise data) while leaving orotherwise preserving personal data, files, and/or applications owned,licensed or controlled by the user (personal data). This operation maybe referred to as a selective wipe. With the enterprise and personaldata arranged in accordance to the aspects described herein, anenterprise may perform a selective wipe.

The mobile device 502 may connect to enterprise resources 504 andenterprise services 508 at an enterprise, to the public Internet 548,and the like. The mobile device 502 may connect to enterprise resources504 and enterprise services 508 through virtual private networkconnections. The virtual private network connections, also referred toas microVPN or application-specific VPN, may be specific to particularapplications (as illustrated by microVPNs 550, particular devices,particular secured areas on the mobile device (as illustrated by O/S VPN552), and the like. For example, each of the wrapped applications in thesecured area of the mobile device 502 may access enterprise resourcesthrough an application specific VPN such that access to the VPN would begranted based on attributes associated with the application, possibly inconjunction with user or device attribute information. The virtualprivate network connections may carry Microsoft Exchange traffic,Microsoft Active Directory traffic, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)traffic, HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) traffic, applicationmanagement traffic, and the like. The virtual private networkconnections may support and enable single-sign-on authenticationprocesses 554. The single-sign-on processes may allow a user to providea single set of authentication credentials, which are then verified byan authentication service 558. The authentication service 558 may thengrant to the user access to multiple enterprise resources 504, withoutrequiring the user to provide authentication credentials to eachindividual enterprise resource 504.

The virtual private network connections may be established and managedby an access gateway 560. The access gateway 560 may include performanceenhancement features that manage, accelerate, and improve the deliveryof enterprise resources 504 to the mobile device 502. The access gateway560 may also re-route traffic from the mobile device 502 to the publicInternet 548, enabling the mobile device 502 to access publiclyavailable and unsecured applications that run on the public Internet548. The mobile device 502 may connect to the access gateway 560 via atransport network 562. The transport network 562 may use one or moretransport protocols and may be a wired network, wireless network, cloudnetwork, local area network, metropolitan area network, wide areanetwork, public network, private network, and the like.

The enterprise resources 504 may include email servers, file sharingservers, SaaS applications, Web application servers, Windows applicationservers, and the like. Email servers may include Exchange servers, LotusNotes servers, and the like. File sharing servers may include ShareFileservers, and the like. SaaS applications may include Salesforce, and thelike. Windows application servers may include any application serverthat is built to provide applications that are intended to run on alocal Windows operating system, and the like. The enterprise resources504 may be premise-based resources, cloud-based resources, and the like.The enterprise resources 504 may be accessed by the mobile device 502directly or through the access gateway 560. The enterprise resources 504may be accessed by the mobile device 502 via the transport network 562.

The enterprise services 508 may include authentication services 558,threat detection services 564, device manager services 524, file sharingservices 568, policy manager services 570, social integration services572, application controller services 574, and the like. Authenticationservices 558 may include user authentication services, deviceauthentication services, application authentication services, dataauthentication services, and the like. Authentication services 558 mayuse certificates. The certificates may be stored on the mobile device502, by the enterprise resources 504, and the like. The certificatesstored on the mobile device 502 may be stored in an encrypted locationon the mobile device 502, the certificate may be temporarily stored onthe mobile device 502 for use at the time of authentication, and thelike. Threat detection services 564 may include intrusion detectionservices, unauthorized access attempt detection services, and the like.Unauthorized access attempt detection services may include unauthorizedattempts to access devices, applications, data, and the like. Devicemanagement services 524 may include configuration, provisioning,security, support, monitoring, reporting, and decommissioning services.File sharing services 568 may include file management services, filestorage services, file collaboration services, and the like. Policymanager services 570 may include device policy manager services,application policy manager services, data policy manager services, andthe like. Social integration services 572 may include contactintegration services, collaboration services, integration with socialnetworks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and the like.Application controller services 574 may include management services,provisioning services, deployment services, assignment services,revocation services, wrapping services, and the like.

The enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 may include anapplication store 578. The application store 578 may include unwrappedapplications 580, pre-wrapped applications 582, and the like.Applications may be populated in the application store 578 from theapplication controller 574. The application store 578 may be accessed bythe mobile device 502 through the access gateway 560, through the publicInternet 548, or the like. The application store 578 may be providedwith an intuitive and easy to use user interface.

A software development kit 584 may provide a user the capability tosecure applications selected by the user by wrapping the application asdescribed previously in this description. An application that has beenwrapped using the software development kit 584 may then be madeavailable to the mobile device 502 by populating it in the applicationstore 578 using the application controller 574.

The enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 may include amanagement and analytics capability 588. The management and analyticscapability 588 may provide information related to how resources areused, how often resources are used, and the like. Resources may includedevices, applications, data, and the like. How resources are used mayinclude which devices download which applications, which applicationsaccess which data, and the like. How often resources are used mayinclude how often an application has been downloaded, how many times aspecific set of data has been accessed by an application, and the like.

FIG. 6 is another illustrative enterprise mobility management system600. Some of the components of the mobility management system 500described above with reference to FIG. 5 have been omitted for the sakeof simplicity. The architecture of the system 600 depicted in FIG. 6 issimilar in many respects to the architecture of the system 500 describedabove with reference to FIG. 5 and may include additional features notmentioned above.

In this case, the left hand side represents an enrolled mobile device602 with a client agent 604, which interacts with gateway server 606(which includes Access Gateway and application controller functionality)to access various enterprise resources 608 and services 609 such asExchange, Sharepoint, public-key infrastructure (PKI) Resources,Kerberos Resources, Certificate Issuance service, as shown on the righthand side above. Although not specifically shown, the mobile device 602may also interact with an enterprise application store (StoreFront) forthe selection and downloading of applications.

The client agent 604 acts as the UI (user interface) intermediary forWindows apps/desktops hosted in an Enterprise data center, which areaccessed using the High-Definition User Experience (HDX)/ICA displayremoting protocol. The client agent 604 also supports the installationand management of native applications on the mobile device 602, such asnative iOS or Android applications. For example, the managedapplications 610 (mail, browser, wrapped application) shown in thefigure above are all native applications that execute locally on themobile device 602. Client agent 604 and application management frameworkof this architecture act to provide policy driven managementcapabilities and features such as connectivity and SSO (single sign on)to enterprise resources/services 608. The client agent 604 handlesprimary user authentication to the enterprise, normally to AccessGateway (AG) 606 with SSO to other gateway server components. The clientagent 604 obtains policies from gateway server 606 to control thebehavior of the managed applications 610 on the mobile device 602.

The Secure InterProcess Communication (IPC) links 612 between the nativeapplications 610 and client agent 604 represent a management channel,which may allow a client agent to supply policies to be enforced by theapplication management framework 614 “wrapping” each application. TheIPC channel 612 may also allow client agent 604 to supply credential andauthentication information that enables connectivity and SSO toenterprise resources 608. Finally, the IPC channel 612 may allow theapplication management framework 614 to invoke user interface functionsimplemented by client agent 604, such as online and offlineauthentication.

Communications between the client agent 604 and gateway server 606 areessentially an extension of the management channel from the applicationmanagement framework 614 wrapping each native managed application 610.The application management framework 614 may request policy informationfrom client agent 604, which in turn may request it from gateway server606. The application management framework 614 may requestauthentication, and client agent 604 may log into the gateway servicespart of gateway server 606 (also known as NETSCALER ACCESS GATEWAY).Client agent 604 may also call supporting services on gateway server606, which may produce input material to derive encryption keys for thelocal data vaults 616, or may provide client certificates which mayenable direct authentication to PM protected resources, as more fullyexplained below.

In more detail, the application management framework 614 “wraps” eachmanaged application 610. This may be incorporated via an explicit buildstep, or via a post-build processing step. The application managementframework 614 may “pair” with client agent 604 on first launch of anapplication 610 to initialize the Secure IPC channel 612 and obtain thepolicy for that application. The application management framework 614may enforce relevant portions of the policy that apply locally, such asthe client agent login dependencies and some of the containment policiesthat restrict how local OS services may be used, or how they mayinteract with the managed application 610.

The application management framework 614 may use services provided byclient agent 604 over the Secure IPC channel 612 to facilitateauthentication and internal network access. Key management for theprivate and shared data vaults 616 (containers) may be also managed byappropriate interactions between the managed applications 610 and clientagent 604. Vaults 616 may be available only after online authentication,or may be made available after offline authentication if allowed bypolicy. First use of vaults 616 may require online authentication, andoffline access may be limited to at most the policy refresh periodbefore online authentication is again required.

Network access to internal resources may occur directly from individualmanaged applications 610 through gateway server 606. The applicationmanagement framework 614 may be responsible for orchestrating thenetwork access on behalf of each managed application 610. Client agent604 may facilitate these network connections by providing suitable timelimited secondary credentials obtained following online authentication.Multiple modes of network connection may be used, such as reverse webproxy connections and end-to-end VPN-style tunnels 618.

The Mail and Browser managed applications 610 have special status andmay make use of facilities that might not be generally available toarbitrary wrapped applications. For example, the Mail application 610may use a special background network access mechanism that allows it toaccess an Exchange server 608 over an extended period of time withoutrequiring a full AG logon. The Browser application 610 may use multipleprivate data vaults 616 to segregate different kinds of data.

This architecture may support the incorporation of various othersecurity features. For example, gateway server 606 (including itsgateway services) in some cases may not need to validate activedirectory (AD) passwords. It can be left to the discretion of anenterprise whether an AD password may be used as an authenticationfactor for some users in some situations. Different authenticationmethods may be used if a user is online or offline (i.e., connected ornot connected to a network).

Step up authentication is a feature wherein gateway server 606 mayidentify managed native applications 610 that are allowed to have accessto highly classified data requiring strong authentication, and ensurethat access to these applications is only permitted after performingappropriate authentication, even if this means a re-authentication isrequired by the user after a prior weaker level of login.

Another security feature of this solution is the encryption of the datavaults 616 (containers) on the mobile device 602. The vaults 616 may beencrypted so that all on-device data including files, databases, andconfigurations are protected. For on-line vaults, the keys may be storedon the server (gateway server 606), and for off-line vaults, a localcopy of the keys may be protected by a user password or biometricvalidation. If or when data is stored locally on the mobile device 602in the secure container 616, it may be preferred that a minimum of AES256 encryption algorithm be utilized.

Other secure container features may also be implemented. For example, alogging feature may be included, wherein security events happeninginside a managed application 610 may be logged and reported to thebackend. Data wiping may be supported, such as if or when the managedapplication 610 detects tampering, associated encryption keys may bewritten over with random data, leaving no hint on the file system thatuser data was destroyed. Screenshot protection may be another feature,where an application may prevent any data from being stored inscreenshots. For example, the key window's hidden property may be set toYES. This may cause whatever content is currently displayed on thescreen to be hidden, resulting in a blank screenshot where any contentwould normally reside.

Local data transfer may be prevented, such as by preventing any datafrom being locally transferred outside the application container, e.g.,by copying it or sending it to an external application. A keyboard cachefeature may operate to disable the autocorrect functionality forsensitive text fields. SSL certificate validation may be operable so theapplication specifically validates the server SSL certificate instead ofit being stored in the keychain. An encryption key generation featuremay be used such that the key used to encrypt data on the mobile device602 is generated using a passphrase or biometric data supplied by theuser (if offline access is required). It may be XORed with another keyrandomly generated and stored on the server side if offline access isnot required. Key Derivation functions may operate such that keysgenerated from the user password use KDFs (key derivation functions,notably Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 (PBKDF2)) rather thancreating a cryptographic hash of it. The latter makes a key susceptibleto brute force or dictionary attacks.

Further, one or more initialization vectors may be used in encryptionmethods. An initialization vector will cause multiple copies of the sameencrypted data to yield different cipher text output, preventing bothreplay and cryptanalytic attacks. This will also prevent an attackerfrom decrypting any data even with a stolen encryption key. Further,authentication then decryption may be used, wherein application data isdecrypted only after the user has authenticated within the application.Another feature may relate to sensitive data in memory, which may bekept in memory (and not in disk) only when it's needed. For example,login credentials may be wiped from memory after login, and encryptionkeys and other data inside objective-C instance variables are notstored, as they may be easily referenced. Instead, memory may bemanually allocated for these.

An inactivity timeout may be implemented, wherein after a policy-definedperiod of inactivity, a user session is terminated.

Data leakage from the application management framework 614 may beprevented in other ways. For example, if or when a managed application610 is put in the background, the memory may be cleared after apredetermined (configurable) time period. When backgrounded, a snapshotmay be taken of the last displayed screen of the application to fastenthe foregrounding process. The screenshot may contain confidential dataand hence should be cleared.

Another security feature may relate to the use of an OTP (one timepassword) 620 without the use of an AD (active directory) 622 passwordfor access to one or more applications. In some cases, some users do notknow (or are not permitted to know) their AD password, so these usersmay authenticate using an OTP 620 such as by using a hardware OTP systemlike SecurID (OTPs may be provided by different vendors also, such asEntrust or Gemalto). In some cases, after a user authenticates with auser ID, a text may be sent to the user with an OTP 620. In some cases,this may be implemented only for online use, with a prompt being asingle field.

An offline password may be implemented for offline authentication forthose managed applications 610 for which offline use is permitted viaenterprise policy. For example, an enterprise may want StoreFront to beaccessed in this manner In this case, the client agent 604 may requirethe user to set a custom offline password and the AD password is notused. Gateway server 606 may provide policies to control and enforcepassword standards with respect to the minimum length, character classcomposition, and age of passwords, such as described by the standardWindows Server password complexity requirements, although theserequirements may be modified.

Another feature may relate to the enablement of a client sidecertificate for certain applications 610 as secondary credentials (forthe purpose of accessing PKI protected web resources via the applicationmanagement framework micro VPN feature). For example, a managedapplication 610 may utilize such a certificate. In this case,certificate-based authentication using ActiveSync protocol may besupported, wherein a certificate from the client agent 604 may beretrieved by gateway server 606 and used in a keychain. Each managedapplication 610 may have one associated client certificate, identifiedby a label that is defined in gateway server 606.

Gateway server 606 may interact with an enterprise special purpose webservice to support the issuance of client certificates to allow relevantmanaged applications to authenticate to internal PKI protectedresources.

The client agent 604 and the application management framework 614 may beenhanced to support obtaining and using client certificates forauthentication to internal PM protected network resources. More than onecertificate may be supported, such as to match various levels ofsecurity and/or separation requirements. The certificates may be used bythe Mail and Browser managed applications 610, and ultimately byarbitrary wrapped applications 610 (provided those applications use webservice style communication patterns where it is reasonable for theapplication management framework to mediate HTTPS requests).

Application management client certificate support on iOS may rely onimporting a public-key cryptography standards (PKCS) 12 BLOB (BinaryLarge Object) into the iOS keychain in each managed application 610 foreach period of use. Application management framework client certificatesupport may use a HTTPS implementation with private in-memory keystorage. The client certificate may not be present in the iOS keychainand may not be persisted except potentially in “online-only” data valuethat is strongly protected.

Mutual SSL or TLS may also be implemented to provide additional securityby requiring that a mobile device 602 is authenticated to theenterprise, and vice versa. Virtual smart cards for authentication togateway server 606 may also be implemented.

Both limited and full Kerberos support may be additional features. Thefull support feature relates to an ability to do full Kerberos login toActive Directory (AD) 622, using an AD password or trusted clientcertificate, and obtain Kerberos service tickets to respond to HTTPNegotiate authentication challenges. The limited support feature relatesto constrained delegation in Citrix Access Gateway Enterprise Edition(AGEE), where AGEE supports invoking Kerberos protocol transition so itcan obtain and use Kerberos service tickets (subject to constraineddelegation) in response to HTTP Negotiate authentication challenges.This mechanism works in reverse web proxy (aka corporate virtual privatenetwork (CVPN)) mode, and when HTTP (but not HTTPS) connections areproxied in VPN and MicroVPN mode.

Another feature may relate to application container locking and wiping,which may automatically occur upon jail-break or rooting detections, andoccur as a pushed command from administration console, and may include aremote wipe functionality even when a managed application 610 is notrunning.

A multi-site architecture or configuration of enterprise applicationstore and an application controller may be supported that allows usersto be serviced from one of several different locations in case offailure.

In some cases, managed applications 610 may be allowed to access acertificate and private key via an API (for example, OpenSSL). Trustedmanaged applications 610 of an enterprise may be allowed to performspecific Public Key operations with an application's client certificateand private key. Various use cases may be identified and treatedaccordingly, such as if or when an application behaves like a browserand no certificate access is required, if or when an application reads acertificate for “who am I,” if or when an application uses thecertificate to build a secure session token, and if or when anapplication uses private keys for digital signing of important data(e.g. transaction log) or for temporary data encryption.

Sharing Data

As mentioned above, aspects described herein relate to sharing data withapplications installed at computing devices. Additional aspectsdescribed herein relate to sharing files based on an enterprise mobilitymanagement system, or a management system for cloud-based or remoteaccess services. In connection with these aspects, and others, FIG. 7depicts an example block diagram for sharing a file, or other data, withvarious computing devices. In FIG. 7, a simplified example networkenvironment 700 is illustrated. Devices 710-730 may transfer or sharedata among themselves. The example network environment 700 includescomponents of the enterprise mobility management system described inconnection with the above figures including, for example, FIG. 5 andFIG. 6. In particular, the block diagram of FIG. 7 includes a gateway740 (e.g., access gateway 560, gateway server 606); a file sharingservice 745 (e.g., file sharing 568, SharePoint of FIG. 6, ShareFile byCitrix Systems); one or more devices 710-730 (e.g., device 502 of FIG.5, device 602 of FIG. 6, device 240 of FIG. 2, device 103, 107 or 109 ofFIG. 1, device 411-414 of FIG. 4, or the like); and one or more networkstorage locations 735. The various devices and components of the examplenetwork environment 700 are in communication with each other via one ormore networks 705. Certain devices and components may communicate witheach other via tunnels (e.g., device 710 may communicate with thegateway 740 via a tunnel similar to 550 of FIG. 5 or tunnel 618 of FIG.6) or via other secure communication methods (e.g., encryption).

Devices 710-730 may include various types of computing devices includingmobile devices, personal computers, tablet computers, laptop computers,and the like. Devices 710-730 may include one or more devices that arecapable of accessing enterprise resources (e.g., resources 504 of FIG.5; resource 608 of FIG. 6) or enterprise services (e.g., services 508 ofFIG. 5; service 609 of FIG. 6) via the gateway 740. For example, device710 may be configured similar to device 502 of FIG. 5 or device 602 ofFIG. 6, and may access enterprise resources or enterprise services viathe gateway 740. Devices 710-730 may include one or more devices thatare executing one or more applications that enable access to cloud-basedservices or remote access services (e.g., via execution of a CitrixReceiver by Citrix Systems and/or an HDX Engine by Citrix Systems). Eachof devices 710-730 may be configured as part of an enterprise mobilitymanagement system similar to the systems described in connection withFIGS. 5 and 6, and/or each of devices 710-730 may be configured toaccess cloud-based or remote access services. The cloud-based or remoteaccess services may be operated by a management system similar to thesystem of FIG. 4.

The one or more network storage locations 735 may be a cloud-basednetwork storage. For example, the one or more network storage locations735 may include a cloud-based network storage similar to cloud computingenvironment 400 of FIG. 4. The one or more network storage locations 735may include a network-attached storage (NAS). The network storagelocation may be accessed via a gateway (access via the gateway 740 notshown) or may be accessed via a different network, such as the Internet.The NAS may, for example, be an enterprise resource accessible via thegateway 740 or a third-party or remotely-accessed NAS.

The file sharing service 745 (e.g., file sharing 568 of FIG. 5;SharePoint of the resources 608 of FIG. 6; or a ShareFile enterpriseservice) may provide one or more services or resources for sharingfiles. For example, the file sharing service 745 may, based on eachdevice's usage of cloud-based services, remote access services,enterprise resources or enterprise services, maintain a record of eachdevice 710-730. For example, the file sharing service 745 may maintainor otherwise store a data record that, for each device, includes anidentifier of the device (e.g., an Internet Protocol (IP) address of thedevice, a media access control (MAC) address of each device), and anidentifier of one or more accounts associated with the device or theuser (e.g., a phone number for the device, an email address for a userassociated with the device, or a mapping of an identifier for a user toan account with the file sharing service 745). This record may, forexample, allow for the file sharing service 745 to determineassociations between a device and a user or an account (e.g., an accountfor the cloud-based services, the remote access services, the enterpriseresources and/or the enterprise services). The file sharing service 745may also maintain a record of each network storage location 735. Forexample, the file sharing service 745 may maintain or otherwise store adata record that, for each network storage location, includes anidentifier of the network storage location (e.g., an IP address of thenetwork storage location). This record may, for example, allow for thefile sharing service 745 to determine potential network locations wherea file or other data may be available or otherwise stored. In this way,the file sharing service 745 may be able to communicate with thosenetwork locations to determine where a file or other data is availableor is otherwise stored. A file or data being available or otherwisestored at a network location may include the file or data being locallystored by a computing device at the network location (e.g., a server atthe network location may be in communication with a hard drive or otherstorage device that stores the file or other data; a computing device,such as a mobile phone or laptop, at the network location may store thefile or other data within its memory, and the like).

As part of a device's 710-730 usage, a user may be interacting with anapplication, such as an email application, a video conferencingapplication, a voice conferencing application, or the like. As the userinteracts with the application, the user may desire to share data, suchas a document, video, or other file, with another user or anotherdevice. For example, if the user is currently operating device 710, theuser may desire to share data with devices 715-730 or any usersassociated with the devices 715-730. To perform the sharing, the devices710-730, the one or more network storage locations 735, and the filesharing service 745 may communicate with each other to, among otherthings, locate any device or network location where the data isavailable or otherwise stored; determine which, if any, devices ornetwork locations are capable of sending the data to one or more of thedevices 715-730; and to store the data such that it is accessible to oneor more applications of the devices 715-730. The one or moreapplications may be of the same type as the application of the device710. For example, if the user of device 710 was using an emailapplication when the user indicated to share the data, the data may,after being shared, be accessible to an email application of devices715-730. However, the types of the one or more applications may beselected by a user of the device 710. For example, the user of device710 may be using a video conferencing application and may have selectedto share the data with an email application of devices 715-730.

Additional details and variations of the depicted arrangement will bediscussed below in connection with the remaining figures and, inparticular, in connection with the FIGS. 8A-8E, and 9. Moreover, theexample network environment 700 depicts only one example arrangement ofdevices and components. Many other variations are possible. For example,the devices 710-730 may include other types of computing devices than isdepicted in FIG. 7 and/or may include additional or fewer devices thanis depicted in FIG. 7.

FIGS. 8A-8E illustrate an example flow where, based on usage of anapplication at a computing device (e.g., device 710), data is sharedwith various other computing devices (e.g., devices 715-730). Forsimplicity, the example flow of FIGS. 8A-8E is illustrated based on thenetwork environment 700 of FIG. 7. In particular, the example flow ofFIGS. 8A-8E includes the devices 710-730 (denoted respectively as firstdevice 710, second device 715, third device 720, fourth device 725, andfifth device 730); one network storage 735 a from the one or morenetwork storage locations 735; and the file sharing service 745. Thenetwork storage 735 a of FIGS. 8A-8E may be a device associated with aparticular network storage location (e.g., a server or some othercomputing device that manages access to the network storage location).Any communication with the file sharing service 745 and the networkstorage 735 a may be performed via the gateway 740 (not shown in FIGS.8A-8E).

In FIG. 8A, the flow begins with a process of initial configuration forthe application. Thus, at 801, the first device 710 may configure anapplication for sharing. The application may be configured to providevarious types of data services for a user. For example, the applicationmay be an email application, a video conferencing application, or avoice conferencing application. Further, the application can be amanaged application (e.g., application 610 of FIG. 6), a secure nativeapplication (e.g., application 514 of FIG. 5), or a secure remoteapplication (e.g., application 522 of FIG. 5). The configuration of theapplication may be based on the installation of a module or plug-inassociated with the file sharing service 745. The module or plug-in maybe configured with an application programming interface (API) that isconfigured as an interface to the file sharing service 745, one or moresecure containers on the device 710 (e.g., container 528 of FIG. 5,vaults 616 of FIG. 6), and/or other component of the example networkenvironment 700 (e.g., gateway 740). The module or plug-in may modify auser interface of the application so that an option for sharing files,based on the file sharing service 745, is displayed (e.g., an icon in atoolbar, or a menu of pull-down options).

The configuration may require a user to log-in to the file sharingserver 745 or otherwise authenticate the first device 710 to the gateway740. The configuration may result in the file sharing server 745generating, for the first device 710, a data record that includes anidentifier of the first device 710 (e.g., an IP address of the firstdevice 710) and an identifier of one or more accounts associated withthe device or the user (e.g., an email address for the user). Afterconfiguration of the application, a user, via the first device 710 andbased on interactions with the application, may be able to initiate oneor more processes that causes data to be shared with other devices.There are various types of data and applications that could be used aspart of a sharing process. For example, a user of the first device 710may, based on interactions with an email application, be able to share afile with other email applications of the devices 715-730. As anotherexample, a user of the first device 710 may, based on interactions witha video conferencing application, be able to share video and/or audiodata with other video conferencing applications of the devices 715-730.Upon completion of the one or more sharing processes, one or moreapplications of the other devices may have access to the shared data.The one or more applications may be of the same type as the applicationof the first device 710 (e.g., if the user interacts with an emailapplication, data may be shared with email applications on otherdevices). A similar configuration, or alternative method of configuringthe API, may be performed at each of the devices 715-730 and the networkstorage 735 a.

At 803 and 805, the user may indicate what data is to be shared(referred to below as “data for sharing” in connection with FIGS. 8A-8E)and any destinations for the shared data (referred to below as “devicesor users for sharing”). In particular, at 803, the first device 710 may,based on one or more first user interactions with the application,receive a first user selection of data for sharing. The first userselection may indicate a particular set of data that is to be sharedincluding, for example, one or more documents, one or more data files(e.g., audio, video, etc.), and the like. The data may be stored in asecure container of the first device 710 (container 528 of FIG. 5,vaults 616 of FIG. 6), or in a network storage location associated withthe file sharing service 745 (e.g., a ShareFile repository). Forexample, the user may, via a touch screen or mouse and displayed mousepointer, scroll through a listing of files or other data that are sharedand/or stored by the first device 710. As the user scrolls through thelisting, the user may, via the touch screen or the mouse and displayedmouse pointer, select an entry for each file or other data that theyintend to share. Once all desired files or other data have beenselected, the user may, via the touch screen or the mouse and displayedmouse pointer, select a button indicating the first user selection ofdata for sharing is complete.

At 804, the first device 710 may, based on the first user selection ofthe data for sharing, determine an identifier of the data for sharing.The identifier of the data for sharing may include one or more filenames corresponding to the data for sharing (e.g., if the data forsharing includes 2 documents, the identifier of the data for sharing mayinclude the file name of the 2 documents). The identifier of the datafor sharing may include version information of the data for sharing. Theidentifier of the data for sharing may include an indication of anapplication type (e.g., an indication of an email application, anindication of a video conferencing application, etc.) that the user ofthe first device 710 interacted with to perform the user selections of803 and 805.

At 805, the first device 710 may, based on one or more second userinteractions with the application, receive a second user selection ofdevices or users for sharing. For example, the first device 710 maystore a listing of all devices and/or users that can be shared withbased on the file sharing service 745 (e.g., a listing of devices theuser is authorized to share with, a listing of devices serviced by thefile sharing service 745, a listing of other users the user isauthorized to share with). The first device 710 may, via the module orplug-in of the application, allow the user to view the listing andindicate one or more selections of devices or users. The selections fromthe listing may form the second user selection. Thus, the second userselection may indicate one or more destination devices and/or one ormore other users that the user intends to share the data with. Forpurposes of remaining portion of the example flow of FIGS. 8A-8E, theuser of the first device 710, based on interactions with theapplication, will be assumed to have selected devices 715-730 forsharing.

At 806, the first device 710 may determine an identifier of the devicesor users for sharing. This determination may be based on the second userselection of step 805 (e.g., the second user selection may indicate orbe otherwise associated with the identifier of the devices or users forsharing. The determination may also be based on application informationof the first device 710 (e.g., a contact list of an email application,attendee list for an active conference of a video conferencingapplication), one or more additional prompts for information from theuser (e.g., a prompt requesting an email address of a user or phonenumber of a device); and/or one or more requests to the file sharingservice 745 (e.g., a request to map the devices or users for sharing ofthe second user selection to the identifiers for those devices orusers). The identifier of the devices or users for sharing may includean identifier for each device for sharing and/or for each user forsharing. An identifier of a device for sharing may include an IP addressof the device or other identifier. An identifier of a user for sharingmay include an email address or other identifier.

At 807, the first device 710 may send a request for locations of thedata for sharing. The request may be sent, via the gateway 740, to thefile sharing service 745. The request may include the identifier of thedata for sharing. The request may include the identifier of the devicesor users for sharing. The request may also include an identifier of thefirst device 710 (e.g., an IP address or other identifier of the firstdevice 710), an identifier of the user associated with the first device710 (e.g., an email address or other identifier of the user of the firstdevice 710), or an identifier for a file sharing account associated withthe user of the first device 710. The request may initiate or causeperformance of one or more sharing processes. For example, based on therequest, a sharing process may be performed by each of the devices715-730 that, once complete, results in the data being shared with thedevices 715-730.

At 809, the file sharing service 745 may, based on the request forlocations of the data for sharing, determine one or more locations wherethe data for sharing may be available or stored. This determination maybe based on one or more data records managed by the file sharing service745 and the request for locations of the data for sharing. For example,the file sharing service 745 may determine, based on the request forlocations of the data for sharing, one or more file sharing accounts. Afile sharing account may be associated with the same identifier of thedevices or users for sharing, which are found within the request forlocations of the data for sharing. Alternatively or additionally, a filesharing account may be determined based on a mapping from theidentifiers for the devices or users found within the request forlocations of the data for sharing.

Continuing the example where the user of the first device 710 intends toshare the data with the devices 715-730, the file sharing service 745may, determine a file sharing account for each user that is associatedwith the devices 710-730. For example, if devices 710-730 are associatedwith five different users, the one or more file sharing accounts mayinclude a file sharing account for each of the five different users.Based on the one or more file sharing accounts, the file sharing service745 may determine storage locations associated with the one or more filesharing accounts. For example, for each file sharing account, the filesharing service 745 may have established one or more local storagelocations (e.g., storage local to the file sharing service 745 or localto the enterprise where the file sharing service 745 is located), one ormore network storage locations 735 (e.g., a cloud-based storagelocation, or NAS), and/or one or more device storage locations (e.g.,one or more devices 710-730 may be configured to store data associatedwith a file sharing account). The data for sharing may be available orstored in each of the storage locations. Thus, the file sharing service745 may determine that the one or more locations where the data forsharing may be available or stored is associated with the one or morefile sharing accounts. Continuing the example where the user of thefirst device 710 intends to share the data with the devices 715-730, thefile sharing service 745 may, based on the one or more file sharingaccounts associated with the devices 710-730, determine that the one ormore locations where the data for sharing may be available or storedincludes devices 710-730 and a network storage 735 a.

Continuing the example flow at 811 of FIG. 8B, the file sharing service745 may send, to each of the one or more locations where the data forsharing may be available or stored, an availability request for the datafor sharing. As indicated in the example flow of FIG. 8B, the filesharing service 745 may, based on the one or more locations where thedata for sharing may be available or stored including devices 710-730and a network storage 735 a, send an availability request to each of thesecond device 715, the third device 720, the fourth device 725, thefifth device 730, and the network storage 735 a. The availabilityrequest may include an identifier of the data for sharing. Theavailability request may include an identifier of the first device 710as an indication that the first device 710 initiated the sharing processand is to receive confirmation upon completion of the sharing process.Alternatively or additionally, the availability request may include ahash based on the data for sharing. For example, the availabilityrequest may include a hash of the actual data for sharing, a hash of theone or more file names of the data for sharing, and/or a hash of theversion information of the data for sharing. The hash may be determinedby the file sharing service 745 (e.g., a Merkle-Damgård (MD) hashfunction such as MD5; a Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) such as SHA-1,SHA-256; or the like).

Based on receiving an availability request, at 812 a-812 f, each ofdevices 710-730 and the network storage 735 a may determine whether thedata for sharing is locally available or locally stored. For example,the first device 710, based on receiving an availability request maydetermine whether the computing device stores the data for sharing in asecure container (e.g., container 528 of FIG. 5), a local data vault(e.g., vault 616 of FIG. 6) or some other local repository associatedwith the file sharing service 745 (e.g., a local file repository forShareFile). This determination may be based on searching the containers,vaults and other repositories for data matching or otherwise associatedwith the identifier for the data for sharing. For example, if theavailability request identifies the data for sharing as a document filewith a file name of “abc.txt”, the first device 710 may search for fileshaving a name “abc.txt” and, if a match is found, the first device 710may determine that the data for sharing is locally available. As anotherexample, if the availability request includes a hash of the documentfile with a file name of “abc.txt”, the first device 710 may search forfiles that, when hashed, match the hash of the document file. If a matchto the hash is found, the first device 710 may determine that the datafor sharing is locally available. Devices 715-730 and the networkstorage 735 a may perform a similar determination. For purposes of theexample flow of FIGS. 8A-8E, it is assumed that the data for sharing islocally available at or stored by the first device 710, the seconddevice 715, and the network storage 735 a. Any of these devices may be asource of the data for sharing. The data for sharing is unavailable ornot stored at the third device 720, the fourth device 725, and the fifthdevice 730. These devices are to receive the data for sharing from oneor more sources.

At 813 a-813 f, each of devices 710-730 and the network storage 735 amay, based on the determination of whether the data for sharing islocally available or locally stored, send an indication as to whetherthe data for sharing is available or stored. Each indication may be sentto the file sharing service 745. Continuing the example where the datafor sharing is locally available or stored at the first device 710, thesecond device 715, and the network storage 735 a, the depictions in theexample flow, at 813 a-813 f, indicate that the data for sharing islocally available or locally stored at the first device 710, the seconddevice 715 and the network storage 735 a. Further, the depictions in theexample flow, at 813 a-813 f, indicate that the data for sharing is notlocally available or not locally stored at the third device 720, thefourth device 725, and the fifth device 730.

Continuing the example flow at 815 of FIG. 8C, the file sharing service745 may send, to each device where the data for sharing is locallyavailable or locally stored, a request to determine an estimate ofnetwork speed with the devices for sharing. Once determined, theestimate of network speed may be used to determine which of the devicescan, based on current network conditions, send the data for sharingfaster or more optimally. These requests may be based on the indicationsreceived at 813 a-813 f. For example, the file sharing service 745 may,based on the indications received at 813 a-813 f, determine whichdevices indicated that the data for sharing is unavailable or notlocally stored. These devices will need to be sent the data in order tocomplete the sharing successfully. The file sharing service 745 may,based on the indications received at 813-813 f, determine which devicesindicated that the data for sharing is locally available or locallystored. One or more of these devices will need to send the data to theother devices that do not have the data locally to complete the sharingsuccessfully, and which of these devices will send the data may bedetermined based on an estimate of network speed. To initiate theprocess, the requests to determine an estimate of network speed may besent to each device where the data for sharing is locally available orlocally stored. Continuing the depicted example of 813 a-813 f where thedata for sharing is locally available or locally stored at the firstdevice 710, the second device 715 and the network storage 735 a, thefile sharing service 745 sends a request to determine an estimate ofnetwork speed to the first device 710, the second device 715, and thenetwork storage 735 a. Each request may, based on which of the devices710-730 indicated that the data for sharing is unavailable or notlocally stored, include an identifier of the third device 720, anidentifier the fourth device 725, and an identifier of the fifth device730.

While 813 a-813 f, and 815 are depicted as involving communicationsbeing sent to and/or from the file sharing service 745, variations tothe depicted flow may be implemented. For example, instead of the filesharing service 745 receiving and/or sending the communications of 813a-813 f, and 815, the first device 710 may receive and/or send thecommunications. In particular, the first device 710 may be sent theindications of 813 a-813 f, and the first device 710 may send the one ormore requests of 815.

At 817 a-817 c, each of the first device 710, the second device 715, andthe network storage 735 a may, based on its received request todetermine an estimate of network speed, send response data to each ofthe devices 710-730 that indicated that the data for sharing isunavailable or not locally stored. As depicted in the example flow ofFIG. 8C and based on the data for sharing being locally unavailable ornot locally stored at each of devices 720-730, the first device 710sends response data to each of the fifth device 730, the fourth device725, and the third device 720; the second device 720 sends response datato each of the fifth device 730, the fourth device 725, and the thirddevice 720; and the network storage 735 a sends response data to each ofthe fifth device 730, the fourth device 725, and the third device 720.

The response data may be sent for a threshold amount of time (e.g., 2-3seconds) and then the response data may stop being sent. The data may besent for the threshold amount of time so that a device receiving theresponse data is able to estimate current network conditions. Forexample, for the response data being sent from the first device 710, thefirst device 710 may first send response data to the third device 720for 2 seconds; may stop sending response data to the third device 720after expiration of the first 2 seconds; may begin sending response datato the fourth device 725 for the next 2 seconds; may stop sendingresponse data to the fourth device 725 after expiration of the next 2seconds; may begin sending response data to the fifth device 730 for thefollowing 2 seconds; and may stop sending response data to the fifthdevice 730 after expiration of the following 2 seconds. The seconddevice 715 and the network storage 735 a may perform a similar processfor sending of response data to the devices 720-730.

The response data may be dummy data (e.g., packets having randomizedvalues in the payloads) or may be a portion, or a subset, of the datafor sharing (e.g., packets having, in the payloads, one or more portionsof the data for sharing). If the response data is a portion of the datafor sharing, a device that receives the response data (e.g., each of thedevices 720-730) may store payloads of the response data for later use(e.g., to lessen the amount of the data for sharing that will betransmitted).

At 819 a-819 c, each of the devices 720-730 may, based on the responsedata it received (e.g., the first device response data, the seconddevice response data, and the network storage response data, as depictedin the example flow of FIG. 8C), determine, for each device that sentthe response data, an amount of the response data that was sent by thedevice. The amount of the response data that was sent may form a basisfor estimating current network conditions. For example, the third device720 may, based on receiving the first device response data from thefirst device 710, determine a first amount of the first device responsedata (e.g., 4 kilobytes of response data was received from the firstdevice 710); may determine, based on receiving the second deviceresponse data from the second device 715, a second amount of the seconddevice response data (e.g., 10 kilobytes of response data was receivedfrom the second device 715); and may determine, based on receiving thenetwork storage response data from the network storage 735 a, a thirdamount of the network storage response data (e.g., 3 kilobytes ofresponse data was received from the network storage 735 a). The fourthdevice 725 may perform similar determinations and those determinationsmay result in amounts of response data that are different from thosedetermined by the third device 720. For example, the fourth device 725may determine that 12 kilobytes of response data was received from thenetwork storage 735 a; 11 kilobytes of response data was received fromthe first device 710; and 3 kilobytes of response data may have beenreceived from the second device 725. The fifth device 730 may performsimilar determinations and those determinations may result in amounts ofresponse data that are different from those determined by the thirddevice 720 and the fourth device 725. For example, the fifth device 730may determine that 8 kilobytes of response data was received from thenetwork storage 735 a; 5 kilobytes of data was received from the seconddevice 715; and 1 kilobyte of data was received from the first device710.

Continuing the example flow at FIG. 8D, at 821 a-821 c, the devices720-730 may select which devices will be a source of the data forsharing. This selection may be performed based on comparing the amountsof response data that were determined. The comparisons may includecomparing the amounts to one or more thresholds and/or comparing theamounts to each other. For example, the third device 720 may determine,based on the amounts of response data it determined at 819 c, that thesecond device 715 is to be the source of the data for sharing. Thesecond device 715 may be selected based on a determination that, out ofthe three amounts of response data (e.g., the first amount, the secondamount and the third amount), the second amount of response data isabove a threshold amount (e.g., 10 kilobytes is above a threshold of 8kilobytes, while 4 kilobytes and 3 kilobytes are both less than thethreshold). The fourth device 725 and the fifth device 730 may eachperform similar selections and determinations. For example, the fourthdevice 725 may select, based on the three amounts of response data itdetermined at 819 b, the first device 710 and the network storage 735 aas the sources of the data for sharing. The first device 710 and thenetwork storage 735 a may be selected based on a determination that boththe first device 710 and the network storage 735 a are above a thresholdamount of response data (e.g., 12 kilobytes and 11 kilobytes are bothabove a threshold of 10 kilobytes). The fifth device 730 may select,based on the three amounts of response data it determined at 819 a, thenetwork storage 735 a as the source of the data for sharing. The networkstorage 735 a may be selected based on a determination that, out of thethree amounts of response data that the fifth device 730 determined, agreatest amount of response data was received from the network storage735 a (e.g., the 8 kilobytes received from the network storage 735 a wasgreater than the 5 kilobytes and the 1 kilobytes that were respectivelyreceived from the second device 715 and the first device 710).

At 822, the second device 715 may select the second device as the sourceof the data. This selection may be performed based on the data forsharing being locally available or locally stored at the second device715.

At 823 a-823 c, the devices 720-730 may send requests for the data forsharing. The requests may be sent to the devices selected to be thesources of the data for sharing and, thus, the requests may be based onthe determinations performed at 821 a-821 c. For example, based on fifthdevice 730 selecting the network storage 735 a as the source of the datafor sharing, the fifth device 715 may send a request to the networkstorage 735 a. Based on the third device 730 selecting the second device715 as the source of the data for sharing, the third device 720 may senda request to the second device 715. Based on the fourth device 725selecting the first device 710 and the network storage 735 a as thesources for the data for sharing, a request may be sent to each of thefirst device 710 and the network storage 735 a.

Each request for the data for sharing may include the identifier for thedata for sharing. A request for the data for sharing may indicate whichportions of the data for sharing are to be sent. For example, the fourthdevice 725 may determine that the first device 710 is to send a firstportion of the data for sharing and that the network storage 735 a is tosend a second portion of the data for sharing. By having differentdevices send different portions of data, the data for sharing may bereceived faster than if the devices attempted to each send the entiretyof the data for sharing. The two portions may be determined based on thecorresponding amounts of response data that were received from the firstdevice 710 and the network storage 735 a (e.g., based on the networkstorage 735 a sending more than the first device 710, the request to thefirst device 710 may indicate that the first device 710 is to send thefirst 40% of the data for sharing, and the request to the networkstorage 735 a may indicate that the network storage is to send the final60% of the data for sharing). As another example, the fifth device 730may indicate a location within the data for sharing that the networkstorage 735 a is to begin sending (e.g., a time stamp within video dataat which to begin sending). The location within the data for sharing maybe based on the amount of the data for sharing that was received aspayloads of the response data (e.g., if 2 kilobytes of the data forsharing was received as payloads of the response data, the fifth device730 may indicate, in its request to the network storage 735 a, to beginsending the data for sharing at or after the initial 2 kilobytes of thedata for sharing).

Continuing the example flow at FIG. 8E, at 825 a-825 d, the varioussources of the data for sharing may send a portion of or an entirety ofthe data for sharing to the devices 720-730. The sending at 825 a-825 dmay be performed based on receipt of the requests sent at 823 a-823 c.Further, whether a portion or an entirety of the data for sharing issent may be based on whether the request indicates a portion of the datafor sharing or a starting location of the data for sharing. If therequest does not indicate which portions of the data for sharing are tobe sent, an entirety of the data for sharing may be sent. As depicted inFIG. 8E, the network storage 735 a, at 825 a, may send at least aportion of the data for sharing to the fifth device 730 (e.g., a portionbeginning at or after the initial 2 kilobytes of the data for sharing,based on the request sent at 823 a). The network storage 735 a may sendat least a portion of the data for sharing to the fourth device 725(e.g., the final 60% of the data for sharing, based on the request sentat 823 b). The second device 715 may, at 825 b, send an entirety of thedata for sharing to the third device 720 (e.g., based on the requestsent at 823 c failing to indicate a portion of the data for sharing or astarting location of the data for sharing). The first device 710 may, at825 c, send at least a portion of the data for sharing to the fourthdevice 725 (e.g., the first 40% of the data for sharing, based on therequest sent at 823 b).

At 827 a-827 c, the devices 720-730 may store the data for sharing. Thestoring may be performed such that the data for sharing is accessible toan application that corresponds to the application of the first device710 (e.g., the application configured at 801, and the applicationinteracted with at 803 and 805). The determination as to whichapplication needs access to the data for sharing may be based on theidentifier for the data for sharing. For example, the extension of thefile name may be used as a basis for storing the data for sharing suchthat it is accessible to applications compatible with the extension(e.g., if the data for sharing includes a text document with anextension of .txt, the data for sharing may be stored in a locationaccessible to a text editor that is capable of reading .txt files). Asanother example, the indication of the application type may be used as abasis for storing the data for sharing (e.g., if the indication of theapplication type indicates an email application, the data for sharingmay be stored such that it is accessible to an email application of thedevices 720-730). The location for storing the data for sharing may bebased on the configuration of the devices 720-730 and any local policyof the devices 720-730. For example, if device 720 is configured similarto device 602 of FIG. 6 and the data for sharing is to be accessible tothe mail application 610, a policy may determine whether the data forsharing is stored as part of the private data vault or the shared datavault (item 616 of FIG. 6). As another example, if device 725 isconfigured similar to device 502 of FIG. 5, and the data for sharing isto be accessible to the secure native application A 514, the data forsharing may be stored within the secure data container 528. As anotherexample, the data for sharing may be stored within a local repositoryassociated with the file sharing service 745 (e.g., a local filerepository for ShareFile).

At 829 a-829 d, the devices 715-730 may send an indication that thesharing process is complete. The indication may be sent to the devicethat initiated the sharing process. Accordingly, based on 803-807 of theexample flow being depicted by FIG. 8A as being performed by the firstdevice 710 (and based on the availability request including theidentifier of the first device 710), each of devices 715-730 may send anindication that the sharing process is complete. Additionally, based oncompletion of the sharing process, each of devices 715-730 may causedisplay of an indication of the data for sharing (e.g., a pop-up displaywindow may indicate that a data file was shared and may include aselectable link to open the data file). In this way, a user of eachdevice 715-730 may be informed of the data that was shared.

At 831, the first device 710 may cause the application (which wasconfigured at 801 and interacted with the user at 803 and 805) toindicate that the data was shared. For example, the module or plug-inmay cause display of a pop-up window or icon that indicates the data wasshared and also indicate that devices 715-730 successfully completed thesharing process.

Based on the above-described example flow of FIGS. 8A-8E, data may beshared among various devices. The example flow provided a particularexample where the first device 710 caused data to be shared with thedevices 720-730. Based on the availability requests sent at 811 of theexample, flow, various processes were performed at the devices 710-735beginning at 813 (e.g., 813 a-813 f) and continuing until one or moresharing processes were complete. FIG. 9 provides additional details asto the processes that one of the devices 710-735 may perform beginningat 813 of the example flow. In particular, the method of FIG. 9illustrates an example method for causing data to be shared based onwhether the data is available or unavailable at a computing device.Comparing the method of FIG. 9 to the example flow of FIGS. 8A-8E, themethod may have been performed by each of devices 715-730, andperformance of the method may have begun at each of devices 715-730after the one or more availability requests were sent. Further,comparing the method of FIG. 9 to the example flow of FIGS. 8A-8E,portions of the method may have been performed by each of the firstdevice 710 and the network storage 735 a (e.g., step 903 of FIG. 9 issimilar to 812 a and 812 f).

At 901, a computing device (e.g., each of device 715-730) may receive anavailability request for data that is to be shared with the computingdevice. The availability request may be similar to the request describedin connection with 811 of FIG. 8B (e.g., the data that is to be sharedwith the computing devices is the “data for sharing” of FIGS. 8A-8E).

At 903, the computing device may, based on the availability request, maydetermine whether the data that is to be shared is locally available.The data may be locally available if the data is stored by the computingdevice or is otherwise locally accessible to the computing device (e.g.,stored by a storage medium physically connected to the computingdevice). This determination may be performed similar to each of 812b-812 e of FIG. 8B.

At 905, the computing device may send an indication whether the data islocally available or unavailable. The indication may be based on thedetermination of 903. Indeed, if the data is locally available to thecomputing device, the computing device may send an indication that thedata is available to a file sharing service. If the data is not locallyavailable, the computing device may send an indication that the data isunavailable to the file sharing service. The sending of the indicationmay be performed similar to each of 813 b-813 e of FIG. 8B.

Based on whether the data is locally available or locally unavailable,the computing device may perform different steps. As depicted in FIG. 9,if the data is locally available, the computing device may proceed tostep 907 (e.g., as may be performed by the second device 715 in theexample flow of FIGS. 8A-8E). As also depicted in FIG. 9, if the data islocally unavailable, the computing device may proceed to step 916 (e.g.,as may be performed by each of devices 720-730 in the example flow ofFIGS. 8A-8E).

At 907, the computing device may, based on the data being locallyavailable at the computing device, receive a request to determine anestimate of network speed with devices where the data is unavailable.The request may be similar to the request described in connection with815 of FIG. 8C.

At 909, the computing device may determine one or more devices where thedata is unavailable. This determination may be performed based on therequest received at step 907. For example, the request received at 907may include an indication as to which devices indicated that the data isunavailable. Each of the indicated devices may be included as the one ormore devices where the data is unavailable.

At 911, the computing device may send, to each of the one or moredevices where the data is unavailable, response data. The sending of theresponse data may be performed similar to each of 817 a and 817 b ofFIG. 8C.

At 913, the computing device may select itself as the source of thedata. This selection may be performed based on the data being locallyavailable to the computing device. The selection may be performedsimilar to 822 of FIG. 8D.

At 914, the computing device may send at least a portion of the data toone or more devices. Which devices are sent at least a portion of thedata may be based on which of the devices that the computing devicereceives a request for data from. The request may be sent from otherdevices similar to 823 a-823 c of FIGS. 8A-8E. The sending of at least aportion of the data may be performed similar to 835 a-825 d of FIGS.8A-8E.

At 915, the computing device may verify access to the data. For example,the computing device may verify that the data is stored in such a waythat it is accessible to one or more applications of the computingdevice. For example, the verification as to which application needsaccess to the data may be based on an identifier for the data. Forexample, if identifier for the data includes a file extension, theextension may be used as a basis for identifying which application needsaccess to the data (e.g., if the data includes a text document with anextension of .txt, a text editor that is capable of reading .txt filesmay need to access the data). As another example, an indication of theapplication type, which may have been included in the request of 907,may be used as a basis for identifying which application of thecomputing device needs access to the data (e.g., if the indication ofthe application type indicates an email application, an emailapplication needs access to the data). Based on which applications areidentified, the location where the data is stored is analyzed todetermine whether the applications have access. For example, if thecomputing device is configured similar to device 602 of FIG. 6 and thedata is to be accessible to the mail application 610, the computingdevice may verify whether the private data vault or the shared datavault (item 616 of FIG. 6) stores the data. As another example, if thecomputing device is configured similar to device 502 of FIG. 5, and thedata is to be accessible to the secure native application A 514, thecomputing device may verify that the data is stored within the securedata container 528. If the data is stored in a different location, thedata may be moved, or copied, to a location that is accessible to theapplications. As another example, the computing device may verify thatthe data is stored within a local repository associated with the filesharing service 745 (e.g., a local file repository for ShareFile).

At 916, the computing device may, based on the data being locallyunavailable to the computing device, receive response data from one ormore devices where the data is available. The response data may besimilar to what is described in connection with 817 a-817 c of FIG. 8C(e.g., if the computing device is the third device 720, the computingdevice may receive response data from the network storage 735 a, thesecond device 715, and the first device 710).

At 917, the computing device may determine an amount of the responsedata that was received from each of the one or more devices where thedata is available. This determination may be performed similar to eachof 819 a-819 c of FIG. 8C.

At 919, the computing device may select which devices will be a sourceof the data. This determination may be performed similar to each of 821a-821 c of FIG. 8D, and may result in the determination of one or moredevices as a source of the data.

At 921, the computing device may send, to each device that will be asource of the data, a request for the data. This sending may beperformed similar to each of 823 a-823 c of FIG. 8D.

At 923, the computing device may receive and store the data. Thereceiving of the data may be performed as a result of a device sendingat least a portion of the data, similar to what is described inconnection with 825 a-825 c of FIG. 8E. The storing of the data may beperformed similar to each of 827 a-827 c of FIG. 8E. By receiving andstoring the data, the data may be accessed or otherwise used by one ormore applications. For example, if the data is a file, the file may beopened based on a user interaction with an application; if the data isvideo or audio, the video or audio may be played based on a userinteraction with an application.

At 925, the computing device may send an indication that the sharingprocess of the computing device is complete. This sending may beperformed similar to 829 a-829 c of FIG. 8E.

The examples discussed in connection with FIGS. 8A-8E and 9 are onlysome of the many embodiments that may be realized based on the methods,block diagrams, and system architectures, etc., described throughoutthis disclosure.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are described asexample implementations of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a firstcomputing device and from a second computing device of a plurality ofcomputing devices in communication with the first computing device, anavailability request for data that is to be shared with the firstcomputing device; determining, based on the availability request fordata, that the data is unavailable at the first computing device;receiving, based on the determination that the data is unavailable atthe first computing device, a subset of the data from one or moredevices of the plurality of computing devices; selecting, based on thesubset of the data, the one or more devices as a source of the data; andreceiving, by the first computing device and from the one or moredevices, at least a portion of the data to enable access to the portionof the data by an application of the first computing device.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the application of the first computing deviceis an email application.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theapplication of the first computing device is a conferencing application.4. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one or more devices isperformed based on a comparison of the subset of the data to anothersubset of the data.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the oneor more devices is performed based on the subset of the data beinggreater than a threshold amount of received data.
 6. The method of claim1, further comprising: sending, to each device of the one or moredevices, a request for the data, wherein receiving at least the portionof the data is performed based on the request for the data; sending, tothe second computing device, an indication that a sharing process withthe first computing device is complete.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: storing, based on an encrypted data vault that isassociated with an enterprise mobility management system or an encrypteddata container that is associated with the enterprise mobilitymanagement system, the portion of the data, wherein the portion of thedata is accessible to the application via the encrypted data vault orthe encrypted data container.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: storing, based on a local repository associated with a filesharing service, the portion of the data, wherein the file sharingservice is of an enterprise mobility management system, and wherein theportion of the data is accessible to the application via localrepository.
 9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable mediastoring executable instructions that, when executed, cause a firstcomputing device to: receive, from a second computing device of aplurality of computing devices in communication with the first computingdevice, an availability request for data that is to be shared with thefirst computing device; determine, based on the availability request fordata, that the data is unavailable at the first computing device;receive, based on the determination that the data is unavailable at thefirst computing device, a subset of the data from one or more devices ofthe plurality of computing devices; select, based on the subset of thedata, the one or more devices as a source of the data; receive, from theone or more devices, at least a portion of the data to enable access tothe portion of the data by an application of the first computing device.10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9,wherein the application of the first computing device is an emailapplication.
 11. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediaof claim 9, wherein the application of the first computing device is aconferencing application.
 12. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the executable instructions,when executed, cause the first computing device to select the one ormore devices is based on a comparison of the subset of the data toanother subset of the data.
 13. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the executable instructions,when executed, cause the first computing device to select the one ormore devices is based on the subset of the data being greater than athreshold amount of received data.
 14. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the executable instructions,when executed, cause the first computing device to: send, to each of theone or more devices, a request for the data; and send, to the secondcomputing device, an indication that a sharing process with the firstcomputing device is complete.
 15. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the executable instructions,when executed, cause the first computing device to: store, based on anencrypted data vault that is associated with an enterprise mobilitymanagement system or an encrypted data container that is associated withthe enterprise mobility management system, the portion of the data,wherein the portion of the data is accessible to the application via theencrypted data vault or the encrypted data container.
 16. The one ormore non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein theexecutable instructions, when executed, cause the first computing deviceto: store, based on a local repository associated with a file sharingservice, the portion of the data, wherein the file sharing service is ofan enterprise mobility management system, and wherein the portion of thedata is accessible to the application via local repository.
 17. A systemcomprising: a first computing device comprising: one or more firstprocessors; and first memory storing first executable instructions that,when executed, cause the first computing device to: configure a firstapplication for sharing based on a file sharing service; receive, basedon one or more first user interactions with the application, a firstuser selection indicating data for sharing; receive, based on one ormore second user interactions with the application, a second userselection indicating one or more devices or users for sharing; and senda request that causes performance of a sharing process; and a secondcomputing device comprising: one or more second processors; and secondmemory storing second executable instructions that, when executed, causethe second computing device to: receive, based on the request thatcauses performance of the sharing process, an availability request forthe data; determine, based on the availability request for data, thatthe data is unavailable at the second computing device; receive, basedon the determination that the data is unavailable at the first computingdevice, a subset of the data from one or more devices of a plurality ofcomputing devices, wherein the plurality of devices are in communicationwith the second computing device; select, based on the subset of thedata, the one or more devices as a source of the data; and receive, fromthe one or more devices, at least a portion of the data to enable accessto the portion of the data by an application of the first computingdevice.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first application andthe second application are both an email application.
 19. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the first application and the second application areboth a conferencing application.
 20. The system of claim 17, wherein theexecutable instructions, when executed, cause the second computingdevice to: store, based on a local repository associated with the filesharing service, the portion of the data, wherein the file sharingservice is of an enterprise mobility management system, and wherein theportion of the data is accessible to the application via localrepository.